I posted this in the “comments” section of Red’s last posting, but thought I would make it into a posting of its own…Elizabeth, you touch on a great point; prenatal diagnosis comes with its own set of blessings and curses. We, like Red, had a daughter with anencephaly, which is a neural tube defect that prevents the brain from developing as it should. Anencephaly is an untreatable and fatal condition, so we knew that our daughter would die either at… Read more

I heard about this touching story over the weekend. Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin gave birth to her 5th child, a son, Trig Paxon Van Palin, who was diagnosed with Down Syndrome during Palin’s pregnancy.”I’m looking at him right now, and I see perfection,” Palin said. “Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?”Amen.But unfortunately, most parents do not share her sentiments, and sadly most will not choose life for… Read more

SHE has arrived! A big Congratulations to Juris Mater and her family on the arrival of their newest baby GIRL!!!! Mother and baby are doing well. Here are baby’s “stats”:9 lbs. 5 oz.21 1/2 inches longMay 1st at 5:29pmAnd a big Congratulations to Kat, who correctly predicted the baby would be born on May 1st–much earlier than anyone expected, including Juris Mater. Kat’s intuition was so strong that she even called me at 5:30 asking if Juris Mater had delivered… Read more

I never expected this week to be so fruitful.I have to admit entering it with a pretty pessimistic attitude–never the best thing for supporting one’s better half in the midst of stress! Yet I love how God shows us within our worries and downtrodden spirits that there is HOPE springing forth, eternal. He is good like that, you know?It has actually turned into a fabulous week. The kids and I have flourished together (more than usual) and I’ve been able… Read more

Today’s feast of St. Joseph is suppressed in honor of Ascension Thursday, but I did want to take a moment to honor St. Joseph and to thank my husband who, along with the other builders guys, works hard every day to make it possible for us to live our vocations as wives and mothers.Lately, I have been getting an amazing amount of support from my husband in all sorts of ways, at the end of a long day at work… Read more

Me–Um, my fertility just returned.Mr. Red–Wow.Me–Gus is only 3 months old. NFP is going to require a LOT of abstaining.Mr. Red–(Silence.)Me–Well, what do you think?Mr. Red–I think it’s time to jack-up the Netflix subscription – I’ll need the unlimited plan. Read more

B-Mama had a great post regarding one aspect of what I was planning on touching on today. It is all too easy for us Moms to feel serious, burdensome guilt. It is a tremendous tactic of the devil.On the flip side, it is also so easy for us to judge others. The ivy league competitor in us has always had a means by which to compare ourselves with others. Test scores, grades, athletics. We could always see how we measured… Read more

In the comments on Mother’s Guilt, we were discussing not having a manual or to-do list for raising our children. One of my highest priorities is to pass on my faith to my children, but I often wonder if I am prepared for this awesome task. PT is a natural skeptic, but I have found that reading this book, Catholic Truths for Our Children has really helped me to answer his questions, as well as to work matters of doctrine… Read more

What is it about mothers and guilt?Why do we so often fall victim to the ease of comparison and competition?I have been pondering these thoughts lately, especially after considering Kat’s post yesterday regarding birthday parties. I have HUGE motherly guilt associated with the celebration of my kiddos’ big days. But why? They feel loved; they feel appreciated; they feel special on their birthdays. So why the need to own up to some standard, some far-off achievement of the biggest bash… Read more